Super Bowl XLVIII: Montee Ball Could Become Household Name On Super Sunday

By Devin O'Barr

Stew Milne – USA TODAY Sports

You really can’t knock Montee Ball for his early-season struggles with the Denver Broncos. As a second-round pick, Ball was brought to Denver with the hopes that he could someday be the franchise’s next go-to running back. However, any rookie playing in Peyton Manning‘s offense should be given a few months if not years to mature.

Ball played in a very cut-and-dry offense with the Wisconsin Badgers during college, so it was rather strange to see John Elway and the Broncos draft such a meat-and-potatoes running back so high. Moreover, Ball has done his best to mesh into the Denver offense, but a fumbling problem and overall newness have limited his production.

Until now that is. With two weeks to prepare for the Seattle Seahawks, you can bet that Manning is looking to get Ball involved in the gameplan for Super Sunday. If you can recall: the last time Manning hoisted the Lombardi Trophy the Indianapolis Colts were aided to victory by a fantastic game from then-rookie running back Joseph Addai.

Believe it or not, Addai was the Colts’ leading receiver with 10 catches for 66 yards against a stout Chicago Bears‘ defense. Furthermore, I fully expect Ball to have a similar impact as Manning will surely dink-and-dunk his way to a knockout of the Seattle Seahawks‘ top defensive unit.

So while many NFL fans might not be sold on Ball just yet; you can bet that the Broncos’ running back will have plenty of fanfare this time next week.